


Soft to Be Strong

by gaykagome



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Cuddling, Disaster Gays, F/F, Family Member Death, Friends to Lovers, Hair Braiding, Massaging, Quick Kisses, Useless Lesbians, kagsan, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:00:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22043701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaykagome/pseuds/gaykagome
Summary: Kagome wants to ruin her friendship with Sango, luckliy Sango also wants that. Feat. hair braiding, cuddling, and general softness. Gift for tumblr user katerinu for inusecret santa 2019!
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/Sango
Comments: 8
Kudos: 66





	Soft to Be Strong

**Author's Note:**

> This is a gift for Tumblr user katerinu for the 2019 Inuyasha secret santa exchange, and their prompt was "cuddling, a budding romance, holding hands, quick kisses, or playing with each other’s hair. Something soft.” So I whipped up all of it. Named after my favorite MARINA song on her latest album "Love + Fear"-- I do not own Inuyasha, Rumiko Takahashi owns all characters, settings etc. I own the gay though.
> 
> TW: Brief mention of family death during the first act, but no more past that.

Kagome woke from a sound sleep to a hazy vision of Sango staring into their campfire. The scene was quiet as the rest of their group slept dead to the world, and Kagome would have fallen back into a soft sleep had it not been for the movement of Sango’s hand on her shoulder catching her eye. 

Kagome sat up from her sleeping bag, “Hey. You alright?” She rasped into the otherwise silent night, clearing the sleep from her voice.

Sango’s responding smile melted her pained expression into one of indulgence. “Hey Kagome. Go back to sleep, I’m okay.” 

“You sure?” Sango nodded dismissively, but her mouth ticked downward as her fingers dug into her shoulder. 

Kagome frowned; their battle with the snake youkai earlier that day had been rough, and Sango had taken more than her fair share of hits. Plus, Kagome noted, she always trained so hard—even between battles, pushed herself so far, Sango’s muscles were probably more beat up than any of theirs. _No wonder she can’t sleep_ , Kagome mused.

Fighting the pull of slumber, Kagome rose from her sleeping bag without any more preamble. Sango watched her in askance, but didn’t protest as Kagome padded over to where she sat. She pulled out a hair scrunchie and tied her hair back purposefully as she moved to sit beside Sango.

“Did you hurt your shoulder during the fight today?” Kagome asked, gently moving Sango’s sleeve down her shoulder to take a closer look. 

“No, it’s just a little tight; nothing to worry about.” Sango smiled and rolled her shoulder, apparently trying to get at a particular spot.

Kagome’s hand ghosted over Sango’s back before asking, “Can I touch?” 

“Sure.” Sango said, surprised. The glow of the fire on her cheeks hide her blush as Kagome moved the fabric away, revealing the bare skin of her back. 

Kagome flicked Sango’s hair across her left shoulder and tucked a few strands behind her ear. Kagome’s cool fingertips prickled on the shell of Sango’s ear. She tugged Sango’s sleeve all the way down her arm, revealing her bandaged chest. Kagome rose onto her knees behind Sango and fell into a rhythm kneading Sango’s neck muscles with her thumbs. 

Sango winced a little, but tried not to show it. “Too hard?” Kagome asked, and lifted her fingers away from her skin.

Sango flicked her eyes back to Kagome. “A little, but I think I’m just tense. That feels really nice.” She responded, conscientiously relaxing under Kagome’s touch.

Kagome hummed in thought, pondering how much pressure she should apply. “Let me know if it hurts too much, okay?” 

“Mmkay.” Sango nodded, her eyes fluttering closed.

Kagome flexed her fingers and set to work. She moved from Sango’s shoulders, to her neck, to her upper back, gently massaging the tension from her muscles. As she worked, Kagome’s frown darkened.

“Sango, how do you move? Your knots have knots, this must hurt so much.” Kagome muttered, working on one particularly gnarly knot under Sango’s shoulder blade. “I guess it makes sense, what with carrying your Hiraikotsu all the time.” 

Sango chuckled, which turned into a wince as Kagome pressed harder, trying to break up some of the lactic acid in her shoulder. “Yeah, it happens. I’m used to it.” 

“Well, I can’t let this go on. Is it okay if we work on breaking this big knot you have right here?” Kagome poked a spot on Sango’s shoulder and Sango let out a muffled groan. “Sorry, it’s going to hurt, but you’ll feel better.”

Sango nodded, “Sure. But Kagome you don’t have to do this, you’ve done enough really. You should go back to sleep.” Truthfully, she just relished the feeling of Kagome’s fingers on her skin, but the way she expertly massaged Sango’s muscles was much more of a relief than she realized. She blossomed under Kagome’s tender attention. 

Kagome brushed some more of Sango’s hair from her face, unnecessarily retucking it behind her ear, “I want to do this, if I know it will make you feel better. Here,” Kagome leveraged herself behind Sango for optimal pressure. “I’m going to count down from three and then I’m going to press down on the knot for a few seconds. Ready?”

Sango steeled herself, “Yep.” 

“3, 2, 1.” Kagome whispered softly, and dug her thumb into the knot, trying to break it up with quick force. 

“Ahh.” Sango hissed before Kagome let up. They did a few more rounds of this stopping and starting, attacking the knot from all sorts of angles, before Kagome released her shoulder with a triumphant smile. 

“There, you felt that right?” Kagome chuckled and rubbed the area with the flat of her palm lightly to dissipate the acid. 

“Yeah, you can say that!” Sango exhaled, her head spinning. 

“I bet it’s half its size now.” Kagome announced proudly, lightly running her fingers across Sango’s scarred back, half massaging half scanning. Her fingertips danced in the grooves Sango’s many long healed scars on her back, memorizing them. 

“Thanks, Kagome. I think I’m done with the big ones for now.” Sango whispered as Kagome went back to soft circles on her back. Sango felt herself melting under Kagome’s expert movements, and her heart tugged at the memories they brought up to the surface. 

“Sure. Here,” Kagome reached into her bag and pulled out her canteen. “Make sure you drink water, or else you’ll feel sick later.”

Sango took the canteen gratefully. Once she had taken a drink and rolled her shoulder a few times to feel how much Kagome had broken up the knot, she asked, “How did you learn to do this?”

Sango didn’t see Kagome’s wistful smile as she rubbed soft circles into Sango’s bicep. “I used to do this for my dad all the time when I was a kid. He got sore muscles all the time.” Sango breathed a quiet, ‘oh,’ at this after a few seconds. Kagome talked about her mother, grandpa, and her brother sometimes, but had never mentioned her father before. From what she could gather, he wasn’t around anymore. Sango appreciated Kagome’s quiet reveal and felt how the unanticipated weight of her words hung in the air between them.

Kagome hadn’t sounded upset, though. She just kept rubbing circles with all the tenderness in the world. Sango felt so nurtured it almost brought a tear to her eye.

“It’s been really hard.” Sango forced herself to murmur, wanting to return Kagome’s vulnerability with a little of her own. “Back in the village, we would all do this for each other. Work the tension out so we could be loose for training and slaying. It’s difficult for me to reach a lot of places on my back alone, so, thank you, Kagome. I mean it.”

Kagome’s fingers paused only briefly. “Of course, Sango.” She replied earnestly. She wondered what other parts of Sango’s life were more difficult—even in just a practical sense— since the tragedy of her village’s demise. What parts of her daily routine was she still learning to do on her own? The thought of Sango trying to grapple with these lessons by herself by the light of the campfire made her heart ache. 

Their hushed confessions hung in the air, the weight not uncomfortable but almost pleasant. After awhile of Kagome just running her fingers over Sango’s skin, she spoke up again, her voice definitively more upbeat. “Well, I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself. So, let’s do this more often, okay? I kind of want to break these puppies up myself.” She giggled, poking another monster knot in Sango’s back.

Sango nodded, sinking into Kagome’s touch. “Thanks.” 

Kagome allowed herself to fall from her position on her knees into Sango’s side. She rested her head on Sango’s shoulder, trying to hide her tiredness. Kagome hardly ever got to spend time with Sango alone like this, and though she wasn’t sure if Sango felt…well. She was just happy her touch hadn’t been unwanted. Kagome yearned to be there for Sango in any way she could be. Kagome’s hand itched to snake down and hold Sango’s, but her trepidation kept her from taking too many liberties. 

The weight of Kagome on her side comforted Sango. For the first time that night, she felt truly like she could sleep. Kagome made Sango feel at peace. But, Sango worried that she constantly wanted too much: to have her father back, to undo all of Naraku’s damage on her brother, to have…well. She was just glad that Kagome seemed not only to tolerate her taking comfort in her presence, but to want to comfort her. Kagome made her feel like her fears were unwarranted, almost like if she just asked, Kagome would let her take what she needed. 

“When’s the last time you slept, Sango?” Kagome’s question jolted her out of the light doze she’d slipped into. She shook her head and nuzzled her nose in Kagome’s hair on the crown on her head. 

“Hmm. I usually get to sleep before dawn.” Kagome smelled so soothing, like home and safety. Sango thought of her as her own personal hearth, radiating warmth and peace. 

Kagome tutted lightly, and moved her head off of Sango’s shoulder and out from under her cheek. “Come here,” she said, and pulled Sango’s shoulders to lie down in her lap. Sango’s body slumped down like a sack of potatoes, too tired to even protest. _Poor thing_ , Kagome thought as she picked her hair up from the dirt. 

She guided Sango’s head onto her lap and began scratching her scalp lightly. Sango’s answering exhale conveyed the intense exhaustion settling into her bones. Her ministrations lulled Sango into a deep sleep faster than she could have imagined. In between scratches, Kagome took her fingers to Sango’s face and traced her relaxed features. Her fingertip brushed Sango’s eyebrow, her cheek, her nose. She marvelled at how soft her skin was, despite their constant brushes with battle. Sango was the toughest of them all, yet she was still so soft. 

Kagome would have continued her exploration of Sango’s face had her touches not started disturbing her sleep. So she withdrew her hand and went back to scratching delicate circles on Sango’s scalp, helping the girl fall back into a dozing state. It didn’t matter anyway, for Kagome was content to watch, to help. It didn’t bother her when the sun began to rise in the distance, and Kagome’s fingers ached from their motions through the night. As their group began to stir, Kagome was content in knowing that just this once, everyone would have to wait while Sango took her repose. 

* * *

“What is _with_ that guy?” Sango giggled, leaning her forehead towards Kagome’s. The sunlight danced on Kagome’s hair in a mesmerizing way, and Sango was actually running her fingers through a strand that had got loose from Kagome’s scrunchie. 

“Girl, I have no idea.” Kagome snorted. She inched closer to Sango so she could grab another piece of hair.

It was a hot day in Edo, and as the noon sun blazed above, their group relaxed and waited for the heat to break. After eating lunch, Sango and Kagome had laid down on a grassy hillside bursting with wildflowers, where the breeze could reach them and stave off some of the heat. 

“I mean, he’s a nice guy, but Kouga’s just _so much_ sometimes.” Kagome laughed again as they went over that day’s shenanigans. They had encountered Kouga and his two loyal companions earlier that morning, and his display of affection had been nothing short of over the top, as per usual. Sango couldn’t argue with her there, even if she always had to repress her worry in the face of his grand romantic overtures.

While it was funny to talk about Kouga _now_ , seeing him always made Sango feel uneasy. She knew why. She didn’t like to think about it. She just wanted to maintain what she had; she continued to map out the different shades in Kagome’s hair revealed by the sunlight.

“Can I braid your hair?” Sango blurted out, feeling desperate all of a sudden not just to touch Kagome’s hair but to have something to do to distract herself. 

Kagome blinked, then broke into a smile so dazzling Sango forgot her worries for a brief moment. “Sure!” She replied as she turned around to give Sango better access.

Sango felt a little braver as she began parting Kagome’s feather soft hair into three parts. She used her fingers to brush out tangles lightly, careful not to tug on Kagome’s scalp too hard. Sango worked at affecting a light, airy tone. “Do you think you’ll ever do it?” She asked, trying to seem conspiratory.

Kagome laughed, but sounding unsure. “What do you mean?”

_One side over the other, now switch. Repeat_. Kagome’s hair fell perfectly into place under Sango’s hands. “You know… Kouga’s a strong leader and it seems he would be good to you. He’s in love with you.” Why is she saying any of this? _Please shut up_. “He wouldn’t be the worst choice in the world for a husband. But, obviously, not until all of this with Naraku is over.” Oh no, she was running out of hair to braid. What if Kagome turned around and her violent blush gave her away?

Kagome was quiet, and Sango was worried that she may have convinced the girl of something she hadn’t yet been sold on. Sango internally groaned in frustration, but her fingers remained nimble and gentle. “You aren’t wrong.” Kagome muttered. “He’s a good guy, but he’s just not my type.” She said this last part with a deceptively relaxed tone.

“Oh, okay.” Sango said, once she reminded her lungs to work. She took the stem of a wildflower and tied it in a knot at the bottom of Kagome’s now braided hair. “Well good. You would have to sleep in a cave for the rest of your life so, good call.”

Kagome chuckled, but didn’t say anything else. She caressed her braid and stared off into the distance, a contemplative look etched in the space between her eyebrows.

Sango took a breath and steeled herself for the next part, “So, uh. What _is_ your type?” She asked as casually as possible. 

Kagome seemed abnormally shocked by this question; she tensed up before forcing herself to appear more relaxed. “Your turn?” She asked, already turning to Sango’s brown locks.

Sango acquiesced, turning from Kagome and allowing her to take hold of her hair. After a minute of Kagome combing through Sango’s hair with her fingers, she said, “Well, what is anyone looking for? Just someone I can be comfortable with. Someone I can laugh with, someone who makes me feel safe. Someone who feels like home.”

“Yeah.” Sango said out loud, but thought _that doesn’t answer the question_. 

“How about you? Are you finally going to put poor Miroku out of his misery and accept his proposal one of these days?” Kagome laughed. 

A hard snort. “Absolutely not. I love the guy but, no thank you.” She paused for a moment before echoing Kagome’s earlier sentiments. “He’s just not my type.” 

Kagome’s voice sounded warmer, “Heartbreaker.” She teased almost accusingly. 

Sango turned to her, letting a smile creep over her face and watching as Kagome’s eyes seemed to go unfocused for a moment afterwards. “What?” She asked, feeling a little lighter. _She thinks_ I’m _a heartbreaker?_

Kagome brought the braid over Sango’s shoulder and began tying the end with a wildflower stem. “Miroku’s all talk with that pervert schtick, the guy is seriously in love with you. He would drink your bathwater if you let him.”

“ _Ew_.” Sango’s nose crinkled and laugh bubbled up from her chest. Kagome wanted her to laugh like this all the time.

“I’m serious!” Kagome didn’t stop once the end of Sango’s braid was secure. She started placing baby blue wildflowers in Sango’s hair neatly. “If he’s not your type, what _is_ then?”

Sango’s laughter became nervous, her fight or flight instinct activated. Well, she was a fighter by nature. She forced herself to look at Kagome, feeling as if she were staring into the sun. Kagome seemed to sober a bit under the full force of Sango’s gaze, returning it. “You wouldn’t guess what my type is.”

Not a single muscle in Kagome’s face shifted. “Try me.” 

Sango allowed herself to feel self-pity. She shook her head with a sad smile. “Believe me, you wouldn’t. But it sure as hell isn’t Miroku.”

“I think I might surprise you.” Kagome murmured, seeming like she had forgotten to breathe as well.

You can only stare at the sun for so long. Sango broke her gaze from Kagome’s face. “Fine, you caught me. It’s Kouga.” 

Kagome rolled onto her back with the force of her laughter, disappearing into the flowers like a sprite. Sango couldn’t remember the last time her cheeks hurt from smiling so hard.

* * *

“Psst. Sango.”

“Hmm?”

“Sango, wake up.” Kagome shook her shoulder.

She cracked an eye open. “Yeah?”

Kagome shivered. “Can we share a sleeping bag? I’m so cold.”

Sango was awake now. “Sure, come on in.” She peeled her blanket off of her and quickly brought Kagome into her warmth before her heat dissipated into the unseasonably cold night. The icy body that slammed into her side shocked her into a slight panic; Sango began rubbing her hand on Kagome’s arm. “You’re frozen.”

Kagome buried her nose into Sango’s warm neck. “Tell me about it!”

“Give me those.” Sango order, taking up Kagome’s fingers and pressing them to her mouth. Sango took in a chestful of air and exhaled heated breath onto Kagome’s hands. It seemed to have worked, as Kagome’s cheeks darkened and she melted more into her side. “You can’t let yourself get sick and die, what would I do without you?” Sango muttered, rubbing her hands together to create friction to warm more parts of Kagome. 

“Just keep me warm and I won’t get sick and die.” Kagome muttered against Sango’s skin, now dampened by her breath. She pressed cold toes to Sango’s calves. 

Sango jumped from the icy touch. “That’s a tall order! You’re half dead already.”

“Then save me, oh great demon slayer!” Kagome murmured, gathering up the courage to reach down Sango’s side and interlace their fingers. She pretended to be half asleep as she brought up their interlocked hands and rested them under her chin to her chest. 

Time passed in pleasant silence. Figuring Kagome was already asleep, Sango huddled closer to her, and allowed her lips to rest on Kagome’s forehead. She puckered her lips and gave her forehead a kiss so small it could easily be mistaken for an accidental bump by someone less observant.

Kagome’s body, although appearing relaxed, was lit up like a livewire. Sango almost gasped in surprise at meeting Kagome’s shy gaze. “Hm, my forehead is warm now. You should try that right here, I’m really cold right here.” Kagome tapped her finger in their intertwined hands to her cheek. She tried not to let show how nervous she was over her bold flirting. _Come on Kagome, this is what you came over here to do_. 

Sango’s brain stopped for a whole second, then leapt into action. She prayed Kagome knew how she sounded when she said that. Did she know what she was doing to Sango by asking something like that? Sango knew she was a goner. She was briefly afraid Kagome had been making fun of her— _have I really been that obvious?_ — but she knew that wasn’t possible. Kagome was nothing if not kind, even if it’s to someone she’s not interested in. 

She pressed a light— _could be friendly?_ —kiss to Kagome’s cheek and pulled back warily to gauge her response. She tried to keep her face cool and composed, but she couldn’t stop her lips from curling up as Kagome turned her other cheek and pointed there. “Now this one?”

_Do I need to be more obvious?_ Kagome thought frustratedly as Sango apprehensively pressed a third kiss to her face. _I have a camping sleeping bag with a thermal insert, is it just me? I feel like I’m being really obvious_. 

_Or maybe_ , Kagome realized with an icy start, _I’m being really weird. Maybe I’ve misread the signs_. “Thanks, Sango. Goodnight!” She said quickly, burying her face into the pillow to hide her ashamed blushed. She just wanted Sango to fall asleep so she could save face and crawl back to her sleeping bag. The last thing she wanted to do in the world was make her closest friend feel uncomfortable, and she’d clearly already done that by the looks of it. 

“Wait.” Sango whispered, causing Kagome to lift her face back to her. “This looks cold too.” And with that, she pressed a delicate kiss to the tip of Kagome’s nose. Kagome’s hope resurfaced with a surge of adrenaline.

“Yours too.” Kagome whispered back impulsively and went in to kiss Sango’s nose. However, in her haste she missed her mark. Honest. It was an accident. Scout’s honor. 

Instead of her nose, Kagome pressed her lips to Sango’s lips; mostly to her upper lip, but still. Sango’s brain was not fast enough to keep up with her body’s reaction to Kagome’s kiss; her silky lips against hers is a sensation she wouldn’t forget any time soon, she was sure. Her entire face turned bright red, and she considered herself lucky that her body stayed locked in place waiting for her brain to catch up, instead of moving automatically and returning the kiss. _Kagome_ had kissed _her_. That had happened, right?

Kagome wanted to bury her head in the pillow again, but she kept her gaze steady. She smiled sheepishly. “Sorry.”

Sango read the vulnerability in Kagome’s face, and the spark of hope in her chest turned into assurance. Elation. Her heart couldn’t keep up, and her thoughts went in a thousand directions at once, but she knew she needed to act.

“You need to work on your aim, miko.” Sango replied, bursting with irrepressible mirth. She brought her finger from their locked hands and tapped her lips once. “You missed.” It was an invitation for Kagome to kiss her again, but her head surged forward of its own accord. 

Sango pressed her lips to Kagome’s firmly, an unambiguously _not_ -platonic kiss. She never imagined she would get to do this with someone she genuinely loved. When Kagome met her kiss with her own, even bringing their locked hands up to caress her jaw line, for the first time in a long time, Sango felt truly lucky. Like her life hadn’t become a series of tragedies. 

“Thank God.” Kagome exhaled when she pulled away from their third kiss. “I was starting to worry I…wait. You like me right?” Sango almost rolled out of their sleeping bag she laughed so hard. She could feel tears prickle at the corners of her eyes when she felt Kagome lightly slap her shoulder. “Stop! This isn’t funny!” She whined and pouted. “You’re going to wake everyone else up.”

At that, Sango actually quieted down her laughter; she certainly didn’t want to do that. She placed another kiss to Kagome’s lips, then her chin, her nose, both cheeks, her forehead, and her lips again for good measure. “Yes, I ‘like’ you.” Sango finally replied, nuzzling her nose against her now warmed cheek. “Do you ‘like’ me?”

Kagome let out a sharp snort before softening under Sango’s stare. She tucked Sango’s hair behind her ear and cupped Sango’s cheek. “Yes, silly.” Kagome’s heart overflowed with how safe she felt in Sango’s arms. Now that she knew Sango reciprocated her feelings, the anxiety that had been clutching her for months now blissfully released. Her body sank into the blankets; Sango cradled her to her chest and they both sighed contentedly.

“This whole time, huh?” Sango whispered in near misty-eyed wonder. 

“I know.” Kagome replied. Why hadn’t she taken a chance sooner? She was positively floating, and her giddiness rose to the surface. “Now, I just have one question for you.”

“Hmm?” Sango murmured, well on her way to a contented sleep but fighting to give Kagome her attention.

“Will you bear my children?” Kagome was breaking down into quiet giggling before she even finished the question, and Sango slapped her forearm lightly. Yet it only took a second for her to break down into her own giggling, having to cover her own mouth to muffle the sounds. 

Once they had gained control of themselves again, Sango shook her head. “Please, never quote the monk again while in bed with me.” 

Kagome pressed her lips to Sango’s collarbone before turning on her side. “Noted, sweetie. Goodnight, Sango.” She murmured as she pressed her back to Sango’s chest.

Sango wrapped her arms around Kagome, interlacing their hands again in front of her body. She placed her nose to the nape of Kagome’s neck, inhaling the scent of her shampoo deeply. She wouldn’t have to memorize it, she realized. She would be able to hold Kagome this close whenever she wanted from now on. No more stolen touches, no more plausible deniability, no more shame. All she had to do was ask, with the knowledge that Kagome wanted her just as she wanted Kagome. 

“Goodnight, Kagome.” 


End file.
